‘Jeopardy!’ host set to moderate Pennsylvania gubernatorial debate

“Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek is set to moderate a debate this year among Pennsylvania’s 2018 gubernatorial candidates.

Trebek will moderate a 45-minute debate in October as part of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry’s annual dinner. The news was first reported Wednesday by The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The chamber said incumbent Gov. Tom Wolf (D) has been invited to participate in the Oct. 1 event, along with the winner of the Republican primary. Trebek is also going to be the keynote speaker at the dinner.

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“Although candidates won’t answer in the form of questions, they will share their perspectives on job creation, fiscal policy, reasonable regulatory oversight and more,” the chamber said.

Wolf’s campaign indicated that the governor has not agreed yet to participate in the event.

“Once the primary campaign is over and there is a Republican nominee, we look forward to sitting down and discussing what debates we will jointly participate in and how those debates are organized. It is premature at this time, before we even have a Republican opponent, to talk about debates,” Wolf campaign manager Jeff Sheridan said in an email.

In the past, Trebek said he would “love” to moderate a presidential debate.

“Unlike some of the other moderators — I’m not going to disparage them — but I have a different approach,” he said in a 2013 interview with The Hill.

“I would not let the politicians get away with standard responses. I would try to pin them down, even though I might look bad doing it,” he said.

Trebek told Salon in 2014 on his political views that he considers himself a “social liberal and a fiscal conservative.”

He said at the time he is registered as an independent and has voted for both Democratic and Republican candidates.

Updated: 4:05 p.m.